The Optimism Gap

Openclaw is still dominating the tech-news, and the recent acquisition from OpenAI raises a lot of opinions and reactions.

It's not that I don't have my own issues with that change, but I find it more fascinating to follow the whole situation happening in front of our eyes, where Peter fairly obviously feels alienated from Europeans and more attracted to the optimism in America.

Watching his interview with Zeit im Bild, and listening to his talk with Lex Fridman makes it painfully visible that most of the reactions he gets from the European side is criticism, whereas reactions in the US are generally positive.

Sure, there are a lot of aspects that need improvements. Sure, AI in general has a lot of negative aspects that need to be discussed. But there needs to be a certain level of optimism and willingness to look for solutions rather than problems. For opportunities more than risks. For more fun and creativity than limitations and regulations.

I'm not saying we should blindly use anything and everything that comes along as fancy new tools. But I am saying that the mindset and differences in general attitudes and optimism seem to have driven Peter out of Europe, and that is a sad realization.

The acquisition itself might have been inevitable, but the reaction to it says something uncomfortable about how Europe treats its own tech talent.

If we want the next OpenClaw to start here, we need to meet innovation with curiosity before criticism. If we want it to stay, we need to back it up with real support.

All that said, I find it immensely impressive what he has achieved with the Openclaw project.